Improvement in seals tor metal straps on boxes



'ibtited aient g @Wire JAMES r. Hannon," or ATLANTA, cnoiaeiA.

Letters Patent No. 107,370, da'tcd September 13,1870.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To ali whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES P. HERRON, of Atlanta, in the county of' Fulton, in the State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful-Method of Sealing Freightlackages, for the purpose of insuring detection in the right quarter when such packages are surreptitiously ope-ned and their contents feloniousl y abstracted while in transita; and I doliereby declare the followingr to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof', reference being had tothe annexed drawing making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a freight-package'with my detective-seal att-ached;

Figures 2 and 3 are enlarged views of the seal and its application; and

Figure 4'is a transverse section ot' the same.

This seal is intended for and can only be used upon packages that are bound or strapped with iron or other bands, such as cases of drygoods, shoes, dto.; but, with the adjunetive measures to be adopted at its introduction into use, it will be found to be of great practical utility, not only to the purchaser of a package of goods, but also to the. seller,'for whom it may he an advertising medium. It is a simple device, involving but triiiing expense and trouble, which will bc more than compensated for by the security it will p give, and will be th'e means of considerable saving to transportation companies and others, who not unfrequently have to paylarge sums for goods lost while supposed to b e in their custody. No drayman, porter, or other carrier, can open a box without furnishing evidence that it has been opened inthe mutilatiouofthe seal, which it is impossible to hide after having been e'ected, and a detection of the culprit is sure to follow, by means to be hereafter described.

in the drawing, tig. 1, is a view of a box-package bbund in the ordina-ry manner, by straps of metal (i a around the ends of its sides.

Where the ends of the hands meet the wood is cut away on the end and sido, at the eorner'of the box, to make a doprcssiomh, by a tool constructed for the purpose, to a depth sutlicient to allow the band to sink into it, so as to be below the surface and out of the way of injury as the box is out round or manhandled.

Under thc ends of the strap a is laid the edge of the` seal c, which is "a plate of tough and flexible metal, of any kindethat may be best adapted to the purpose, asis shown in figs. 2 and 4. lhe ends of the band a are then secured by nailing down through both hand and seal into vthe vw-ood. The plate c is then folded over the ends of the band, so as to cover them, and is bent down, as shown in iigs. 3 and 4, so as to be within the depression b on the end of the box, where-it is secured by tacking.

It is manifest that no means can he taken toopen' the box without giving evidence of the fact thatthe` attempt has been made; for it the band a, has been out it cannot be mended, and the sealcannot possibly be removed wit-hout defacing it in such a manner as to inake it a convicting, if silent, witness.

' 'lhe seal c may be stamped with the name and business address of the party who makes up and ships the package. Those who receive the box for trailsportation or use of contents notice that the seal is not defaced when it reaches them, and before they consent to receive it. If the seal is sound they stamp upon it their initials, a trade-mark, or some device which they may adopt for the purpose, and which will be evidence that the box came to them in good condition. If, when a box be delivered to any part-y, the

seal is ldiscovered to be mutilated or defaced, the porter, drayman, or other carrier who fetched is to bc i held personally'accountable for the niarring of the seal between :where lie received it and thefplacc where it was refused. The'injury to the seal willlbe held to be prima. fcc-ic evidence of a criminal attempt, if not a consummation, on the part of the individual who hal thepackage last in charge.

Having thus fully described m'y'invention, lVhat I claim therein asA new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The seal c, in combination with the bands a, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the foregoing,- the depression b in the material of the box, made for the purpose of protecting the seal ii'om injury when handled, as set forth.

JAMES I. HERROD.

Witnesses:

' GUY I. HUMPHRIES,

i. H. Hannes. 

